I have never owned a cellular enabled iPad. When I think about the way I use my tablet, I know that there won’t be many times when I’ll need access to the Internet and won’t be able to connect to free Wi-Fi. It is not financially smart for me to invest more monthly charges on a device that I won’t need to use a data plan for very often. If I could somehow get free data, I’d purchase an iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular just so I can have the option if I need it.

FredomPop has just made that possible. FreedomPop is a service that offers free limited Internet service for smartphone devices. Today, the company added a select few tablets to its line of products that can take advantage of free data, calls, and text messages.

With an LTE enabled iPad of any kind, you can get 500MB of LTE data, 200 voice minutes, and 500 text messages, all for free. You can either purchase an iPad mini from FreedomPop’s available product offerings, or bring your device over from another carrier. FreedomPop offers a refurbished first-generation 16GB iPad mini for $320, which is similar in price to what you can get refurbished from Apple directly.

Of course, being that the iPad does not come with any kind of phone service or non-Apple text messaging (at least until iOS 8), FreedomPop has another way of allowing iPad owners to take advantage of all of the free features. When you switch to FreedomPop on your iPad, you’ll get a free set of headphones with a built-in microphone that you can use with the FreedomPop Free Voice and Text app (not iPad optimized).

I know I won’t use more than 500MB per month on my iPad and I doubt I’ll need to make any non-Facetime calls from it. So, for the monthly cost of zero dollars, it is time to invest in an iPad Wi-Fi + Cellular. I’ll wait until this fall to upgrade.

Visit FreedomPop to find out if the service is available in your area and look into how you can get free or low-cost Internet plans for your iOS device.